Bluebells

Hello

A blustery wind and some strong sunshine but not a lot of new birds found locally today.

At long last a Song Thrush struck up a ballad a couple of gardens away and finally made it on to the April 'from the garden' list! Two Bar-tailed Godwits flew low over the garden just before midday and this species not surprisingly was also an addition to the said list!

The Black Redstart and Common Redstart couldn't be found at Blueberry Farm today but a Grasshopper Warbler was singing nearby and a flock of about two hundred Fieldfares were in the paddocks there. 

The Whinchat was present in the valley below Hanging Houghton for it's fifth day and this afternoon it was joined by a Wheatear.

Regards

Neil M

Kelmarsh Estate woodland.

Badger Sett Kelmarsh Estate.

Bluebells Kelmarsh Estate.

Ring Ouzels and more...

Hello

Plenty of migrant activity today in sometimes blustery conditions but with plenty of sunshine from mid-morning.

John Hunt kicked off proceedings at Lower Barnwell Lock flood with three Whimbrel and a Greenshank, and then located nine Wheatears in a sheep field between Benefield and Deenethorpe.

Stewart checked up on his Ring Ouzel this morning and he was still present near barns along the Clopton to Bythorn road.

Harrington Airfield finally attracted a spring Ring Ouzel with a female near Bunker One at about 8am, and there were 5/6 Wheatears, a Raven and a pair of Grey Partridge also present. Nearby an adult male Black Redstart was at Blueberry Farm buildings (Maidwell) at about 9.30am but was not seen subsequently. Other birds included a female Common Redstart in hedging nearby, two Yellow Wagtails and ten Fieldfares. The Whinchat remains on his haystack in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

An addition to our April 'seen from the garden' list was an Osprey that spiraled NW over the garden just before 3pm. A Barn Owl was alongside the A508 at Hanging Houghton early this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Very much a 'record shot'
of the Ring Ouzel at
Harrington this morning!

Swallows at Blueberry Farm today.

Osprey overhead at
Hanging Houghton
this afternoon.

A rather tatty Common Buzzard
over the garden at Hanging
 Houghton this afternoon.

Garden male Sparrowhawk
courtesy of Chris Payne.

April showers

Hello

A reasonable amount of rain overnight and this morning is the first substantial drop for some time and is likely to be partly responsible for some of the passage migrants seen in the county today.

The male Ring Ouzel is near Clopton for it's third day, and a Lesser Whitethroat was also there today. Near Oundle at Barnwell Lock floods, John Hunt found a Garganey this morning plus a Green Sandpiper, a Greenshank and a Yellow Wagtail. Two Oystercatchers overhead at Barton Seagrave heading towards Wicksteed Park was a good 'seen from the garden' bird!

Eleanor's run out this morning provided a male Common Redstart in roadside hedging at Drummerboy Lake (between Cottesbrooke and Brixworth) and a calling Cuckoo.

At Pitsford Reservoir today there was a fishing Osprey, a hunting Barn Owl, the usual Yellow-legged Gull and a Common Sandpiper.

Much of the week ahead looks to be breezy but sunny and no doubt more summer migrants will be arriving each day...

Regards

Neil M

This Cetti's Warbler was photographed by David
 Arden in scrub adjacent to Pitsford Reservoir a
 couple of days ago.

A small herd of British White Cattle
are managed at Kelmarsh Hall and the
next generation are now enjoying the
lush green grass of spring.

Female Starling.

Mid-April migrants

Hello

A cool north easterly breeze looks like it might be set in for some time and may provide an opportunity for a flurry of terns and Little Gulls (and maybe Kittiwake) at some of our more substantial waters during the next week or so.

Plenty of migrants and other good birds were reported in the county today, some of which were as follows:-

Three Cattle Egrets were at Stanwick Pits this morning and Clifford Hill Pits attracted three Little Gulls, four Common Terns, a Common Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover. A White-tailed Eagle was reported as flying over Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits this morning (no more details known).

Harrington Airfield today was good for an adult male Merlin, six Wheatears, a Raven and a pair of Grey Partridge. The Ring Ouzel was again off the Clopton to Bythorn road on the Cambridgeshire border. The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton held on to yesterday's Whinchat, plus three Wheatears, a Cuckoo, a Grasshopper Warbler, a flock of eight Yellow Wagtails and a Peregrine.

A Wheatear was at Farndish, near Irchester and hirundines over Ashton Sewer Works were made up of twelve House Martins and fifteen Swallows.

Regards

Neil M

Northern Wheatear courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Male Yellow Wagtail.

White-tailed Eagles.
With now at least four reports
in the county this spring, is there
still a chance for the rest of us to
catch up with one?

North and west bound birds...

Hello

Eleanor's morning walk took her to Blueberry Farm today where a male Ring Ouzel was foraging on grass alongside one of the hedgerows and two Wheatears were on the hill. About forty Fieldfares and a Raven were nearby.

Sarah Gibbs was in Wicksteed Park, Kettering this morning and watched a Carrion Crow 'anting' itself. This is well documented behaviour whereby birds 'bathe' in ants, secreting the acid and chemicals from the ants to enhance the skin and feathers. Although well known it is not in my experience commonly seen in the UK...

Birds in and over the garden today were not remarkable but in the Brampton Valley below the village this afternoon there was a fine singing Whinchat and a male Greenland Wheatear.

Elsewhere and Stewart Short saw a singing male Ring Ouzel near Clopton and heard a Cuckoo nearby. A Cuckoo was also heard at Chase Park Farm, Yardley Chase this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Male Whinchat.

Male Ring Ouzel.

Garden Snaps

Hello

A stunning day's weather today with a cool air but loads of gorgeous sunshine and just a very light breeze.

Fiona Barclay found a flock of ten Yellow Wagtails in a field near Lamport - they seem to be coming through in good numbers rather early this year. I didn't hear or see any winter thrushes today, the first day for a long while without the chatter of a Fieldfare or call of a Redwing overhead. Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs are in good numbers locally and Willow Warblers will be a mixture of local breeders and birds en-route to Scotland.

Two Cattle Egrets were seen near Irthlingborough Lock today and a drake Garganey was on North Lake on the eastern section of Ditchford Pits. A Peregrine was seen over Far Cotton, Northampton.

Birds over our garden included the usual four species of raptor and Raven but Ian Pretty had a very large raptor pass over Grange Park, Northampton this afternoon - was it the return of the eagle? The bird was seen heading north-east...

Nearby we found a couple of pairs of Grey Partridge and a solitary Yellow Wagtail and this afternoon I took some images of common birds in the garden...

Regards

Neil M

Woodpigeon.

Collared Dove.

Second calendar year male
Blackbird. This bird was hatched
last year but is already collecting
food for it's own brood!

A couple of the garden
Robins like the 'Flutter
Butter' - bird safe peanut butter!

First there were Goldfinches
on the feeder...

...then it was Greenfinches!

Red Kite perched up
near Sywell today courtesy
of Jim Dunkley.

Eagle overhead!

Hello

This morning dawned still, cool and then sunny and remained so all day. I committed to a little garden ringing first thing for a couple of hours but visible migration seemed to be virtually nil and there was little new that found the mist nets. The main task for today was shopping (for several households post Easter) and then following grocery distribution we settled at home.

The Starlings, Pied Wagtails and Reed Buntings were constantly coming in for food and are now becoming rather tame and often approach quite closely when we are sitting out in the garden. The usual raptors and Raven performed their respective fly-overs but nothing out of the ordinary was seen.

A far cry from Irthlingborough in East Northants where Steve Fisher witnessed a juvenile White-tailed Eagle drift north-east over his garden at 1pm, with the bird then reported from Barnwell a little while later! It is understood to be one of the Isle of Wight introduced birds and is presumably being tracked. Never mind its provenance, to see any eagle in the skies of Northamptonshire is really quite something. With us all sitting in our gardens and looking up I suspect there will be some very interesting large birds seen flying over the county this spring - bring it on!

Regards

Neil M

Robin nestlings by Chris
Payne. These birds fledged
successfully yesterday.

Male Kestrel over the
garden today. No it's not
an eagle but you have to
start somewhere!

Pied Wagtail in the garden,
he's becoming tamer by the day!

Easter Monday

Hello

With a big change in the weather beginning yesterday afternoon, a cold and strong wind developed with some rain overnight. As today went on the wind gradually dropped and the sun came out once more but it still remained a much cooler day than of recent.

I took the opportunity to catch up on plenty of admin work, mostly documenting and inputting Common Bird Census and Wetland Bird Survey data, so I didn't see very much today - it's much more enjoyable carrying out the surveys than adding up the figures, creating the tables and inputting!

A couple of Ravens have been overflying the village today, the birds cramming their beaks and throat pouches with food en-route to active nests nearby. A wander around the fields towards Scaldwell provided a Yellow Wagtail and the southern hedges/treeline of Lamport Hall held lots of small birds in the lee of the northerly wind which included Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests.

A few Fieldfares were about the village and a couple of pairs of Long-tailed Tits were busy finishing off their complex moss and feather domed nests.

Regards

Neil M

Lamport Hall. The magnificent
Sweet Chestnut on the right is some
way behind the leaf burst of the Oak
on the left.

Long-tailed Tit courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Raven courtesy of
Jacob Spinks.

Easter Sunday

Hello

Very little to report from our end today with much of it spent in the garden, mostly looking at all the tasks that need doing rather than actually doing many of them!

Nevertheless the April 'birds from the garden list' went up by a couple with the addition of Canada Goose and Bullfinch, but still Song Thrush hasn't materialized. There have been some very still and quiet nights during the last week and most nights I have been able to hear several Tawny Owls, a Little Owl and a Barn Owl. Moorhens have passed over at night twice during the last week too.

Our Yellowhammer flock has thinned out and mostly gone now but small numbers of Reed Buntings are persistent visitors still.

As far as I can tell we have no birds nesting in the garden this year, at least not yet. I suppose with us and the dogs spending so much time in the garden we may have put them off?

Our exercise regime took in Harrington Airfield this morning first thing but the Black Redstart wasn't seen in a brief search. There were two male Wheatears on Bunker Three, as many as ten singing Willow Warblers and two singing Common Whitethroats plus at least two Ravens. Some of the male Linnets up there are beginning to look good with their scarlet breasts coming through.

Regards

Neil M

We don't attract large numbers
of Starlings in our garden at
this time of the year but dried
mealworms is definitely a favourite
of theirs! In the summer we can have
 good numbers of fledged juveniles coming
 in for the same food.

The top image depicts
a female in breeding plumage and the
 bottom bird is a male. The female has a
 pink-based mandible and often shows a pale ring
 in the eye, the male has a blue-based
 mandible and the eye tends to be liquid black.
Already both birds are wearing off the pale
spots which they begin the breeding
season with, and by the end all the spots
will have worn away.

Easter Saturday

Hello

Eleanor's revisit today to Harrington Airfield confirmed the continuing presence of the Black Redstart, this time around Bunker Three where there was also a Northern Wheatear. A Tree Pipit flew over north calling well.

I haven't seen a great deal today but each time I hear a singing Blackcap, Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler it puts a smile on my face. And when I hear the singing Swallow above our garden I can't help but grin! For some people the subtleties of nature are often not appreciated or at least not until we mature in years. I feel fortunate that I have always enjoyed this spectacle and of course spring is an amazing time when our world seems to re-awaken.

I had a Common Whitethroat along the Brampton Valley this afternoon and I suspect that this is my earliest ever. I don't normally come across this species until the third week of April.

Fiona Barclay saw a Common Redstart along the Brampton Valley at Draughton Crossing this morning, but apparently it didn't give much of a view before disappearing over a hedge!

Regards

Neil M

Adult Swallow.

Common Whitethroat courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Good Friday birds

Hello

Eleanor's early morning visit to Harrington Airfield paid off by finding a female-type Black Redstart by the straw bales on the main concrete track, two Wheatears by the concrete track entrance, an adult Peregrine, a Raven and a Yellow Wagtail. There are now four singing Willow Warblers on-site.

Below Hanging Houghton in the Brampton Valley the fields there continue to attract passage Fieldfares numbering some five hundred birds this morning and a couple of Ravens passed over the village later in the day.

An Osprey was seen at Pitsford Reservoir early this morning moving from the reserve side to the south of the causeway.

Regards

Neil M

Black Redstart.

Yellow Wagtail.

Osprey.

Happy and Safe Easter!

Hello

Another day of fabulous weather, a cool air, gentle breeze and plenty of sunshine. Despite spending plenty of time gazing out at and over the garden I'm afraid the birds were business as usual. Small numbers of Meadow Pipits continue to filter over in small flocks and a single Yellow Wagtail did likewise. 

We have recently signed up for the BTO Garden Watch which is free for a year with the intention of recording the number of species and the number of individual birds using the garden. The idea is that you should only record the maximum numbers of each species that you see at any one time, with an opportunity of recording other disciplines of wildlife such as butterflies, mammals etc.

During March and April we have been enjoying reasonable numbers of Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers coming for food but I've probably not seen any more than nine Reed Buntings and perhaps a similar number of Yellowhammers at any one time. However I suspect we have potentially been servicing as many as thirty Reed Buntings during the period, best evidenced by the fact that fifteen have been ringed in the garden since 30th March.

Chris Payne continues to watch over his garden Robin nest, the eggs have hatched and the adults are busy feeding the young and removing the faecal sacs (images below).

A  couple of hundred Fieldfares were again present in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and a fishing Osprey and a Yellow-legged Gull were at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon.

Regards and enjoy a Happy and Safe Easter!

Neil M

Male Reed Bunting.

Robin nestlings.

Attentive Robins!

All Robin images
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Osprey

Hello

Despite the super weather today and the particularly warm afternoon it didn't provide any new bird species for us locally and with no new birds to add to the growing April 'from the garden' list!

Plenty of large insects on the wing today with multiple butterfly sightings and lots of bees. The frog tadpoles have wriggled free of their egg membrane and are swimming around in our garden ponds.

Perhaps the most unexpected sighting was an Osprey perched on a roadside telegraph pole between Pitsford Reservoir and Brixworth this morning, complete with fish! The road was ridiculously busy with traffic to the point where I couldn't safely stop where I wanted to take a couple of photos. The blue darvic ring on it's leg denotes it is a bird known to the Rutland Water Osprey Scheme.

Regards

Neil M

Osprey.

The summer migrants are arriving

Hello

Not much in our neck of the woods today, Eleanor saw plenty of Fieldfares in the horse paddocks at Blueberry Farm today but not the hoped-for Ring Ouzels. As in many places now there were singing Blackcaps and Willow Warblers too. A Yellow Wagtail was in the field behind our garden at Hanging Houghton and single Ravens were seen at two sites locally.

Currently our 'birds recorded from the garden' list since 1st April now stands at 52 species, and no we still haven't recorded a Song Thrush yet! Like most days there was a couple of small flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing around the village for parts of the morning and there are a couple each of singing Blackcap and Chiffchaff and this afternoon there were three Swallows flying around singing.

The butterflies have really responded in a flourish to this period of dry, sunny days and most early season species are on the wing now.

A couple more bird ringing recoveries as follows:-

1. A first year Chiffchaff ringed at Harrington Airfield in August last year has been processed twice in recent days by Northants Ringing Group ringer Rory Akam in his Buckinghamshire garden at Dadford (not far over the border). In the meantime it is likely that this bird has at least wintered in Iberia and possibly even Africa so the distance between Harrington and Dadford is pretty academic!

2. An adult female Goldfinch was caught and ringed at Townhead, Gifford, East Lothian, Scotland on 30th October 2019 and this bird turned up in a mist net operated by me at Hanging Houghton on 1st April. That is a duration of 154 days with the distance between the two sites being 412km. This recovery fits the pattern of breeding birds in Scotland moving south in the winter and then heading back up in the spring. The likelihood is that this bird probably wintered to the south or east of Northants and is on her way back.

Regards

Neil M

Chiffchaff.

Goldfinch.

Both images courtesy of
John Tilly.

Mobile Blue Tits

Hello

A wander at Harrington Airfield this morning didn't produce much new of interest which was a bit of a surprise as the conditions looked ideal for something. The singing Willow Warblers had increased to three (there is a significant breeding colony here), a Raven was there and three pairs of Grey Partridges on territory is about right for this time of the year. The usual third year Yellow-legged Gull was still at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon and a Raven passed over the garden at Hanging Houghton several times.

Several ringing recoveries of Blue Tits have been received as follows:-

1. A first year male bird was ringed at Hall Farm, Brentingby, Leicestershire on 9th November 2019 and was then caught again at Kelmarsh Hall on 17th March 2020. This is a distance of 38km south with 129 days having passed between the two capture dates;

2. An adult bird was trapped and ringed at Market Harborough on 25th November 2019 and this bird then found a mist net at Hanging Houghton on 22nd March this year, 118 days later and having traveled 15km also in a southerly direction;

3. A first year bird was caught and ringed at Hillesden, Bucks on 16th December 2019 and was next encountered at Scotland Wood, Kelmarsh on 9th March 2020, 84 days later with this bird having traveled 51km in a northerly direction!

Clearly not all Blue Tits remain in their natal area!

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tits courtesy
of John Tilly.

Sunny Sunday

Hello

As promised today was a pleasant warm day here in sunny Northamptonshire and altogether very spring-like! Plenty of common butterflies on the wing which included a couple of male Orange-tips at Hanging Houghton and with one through the garden.

Eleanor went for a run with Tor, Rouzel and Jaeger and came across a calling Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the belt of trees next to Beck Dairy just outside Cottesbrooke village plus singing Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Willow Warblers in general along the run route. There is a great deal of farming activity at the moment and the fields are busy with tractors. A couple of 'scuffled' fields in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton hosted hundreds of Fieldfares this morning.

My exercise regime took me to New Covert at Kelmarsh where I haven't been for some time. Lots of singing Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs and the usual woodland birds including a singing Marsh Tit. At least one Crossbill was in the wood briefly late morning.

Much of the remainder of the day has been spent in the garden, doing a couple of little jobs but mostly relaxing. The 'birds seen from the garden' list was smaller today as I didn't start until 12 noon and ended up recording 36 species. Four of those species were different to yesterday's effort so a total of 45 species over the weekend. Sadly still no Song or Mistle Thrush though - they must be on the other side of the village this year!

Regards

Neil M

Fieldfare.

Ring-necked Parakeet. A small
population now breeds in Northamptonshire.

There was evidence that some
of our breeding Swallows are already
back on territory at a few sites in
rural locations.

All images courtesy of Robin Gossage.